Reunion Mission. Virginia Vaughan
will sting,” the EMT said as he treated the wound where a bullet had grazed Matt’s shoulder.
He barely flinched as the EMT fixed him up. It wasn’t serious. He’d had serious wounds before, but this episode tonight had shaken him and he didn’t have to wonder why. Claire was huddled in the cab of a police car, head down and shaking with fear.
He couldn’t believe he’d been prepared to leave her at the house alone. What if he had? What if he hadn’t been there when the shots came? Anger and bitterness surged through him. He would find whoever was doing this and he would make them pay.
He’d had one mission in coming home—to fly under the radar and get out of town with information about a dangerous drug ring. That mission had failed big-time. Now he had a new one—to keep Claire safe.
He headed for the car and knelt beside her.
“How’s your arm?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I’ve had worse injuries shaving in the mornings.”
She smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood. “The police want to know what I saw. The problem is I don’t know what I saw. I remember a car slowing down, but I can’t remember the details. They want make, model, color.”
He’d been trained to notice such things and he’d already given the local police a description as well as the tag number, although he doubted it would result in anything. The car was more than likely stolen or the plates had been changed. He doubted they would have an easy time locating the car.
“You can’t stay here,” he told her. “It’s not safe for you to be alone until we figure this out.”
She nodded, obviously realizing he’d been right. “I can’t go to a friend’s house. I won’t put anyone in danger because of me. I’ll get a hotel room.”
He wouldn’t argue with her over that. He had a hotel reservation, and getting Claire an adjoining room and having her close by would make him feel better. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do.
Matt loaded Claire’s bags into the trunk of his rental car, which he’d retrieved from the school parking lot while she was being questioned by the police. Her Bug was bullet-riddled and inoperable, but that didn’t matter because he’d already determined that she wasn’t going anywhere without him. Not until he knew she was safe, and that meant finding out who was behind the drug ring.
He drove to the hotel he’d booked and asked for adjoining rooms, making sure they had good sight lines to the parking lot in case someone decided to attack them at the hotel.
Claire unpacked, then stood at the door and watched Matt as he unloaded his computer equipment and set up a mini office on the desk.
“I’m sorry to take you away from your family. You come to town to see them and now you’re stuck here protecting me.”
He focused his attention on setting up his computer, hoping his expression wouldn’t give him away. Once upon a time, she’d been able to read him like an open book and know when he was holding something back. He wondered if she still could.
She stared at him, then folded her arms in a determined stance he recognized. She glanced at his suitcase, noting the few folded pieces of clothing. His phone was on the nightstand and she must have realized he hadn’t used it once to phone his parents. “They don’t know you’re in town, do they?”
“I didn’t come to Lakeshore for a family reunion, Claire. I came to follow up on a lead about a drug ring operating in town.”
“But how could you come back to Lakeshore and not call your family? You had a hotel reservation. You weren’t planning on seeing them, were you?”
“No, no, I wasn’t.”
“But I thought everyone was in town for Alisa’s wedding.”
“That’s not until the weekend after next.”
She watched him for several moments and it seemed she was looking right into his soul. Could she see the years of pain and grief behind the green of his eye? Ten years had taken a toll on him yet she still looked as sweet and beautiful as she had in high school.
He saw a tinge of sympathy in her eyes...then she reached for her hip and bit back pain and her sympathy for him seemed to falter. She walked in and sat down. “Why are you here, Matt? I mean, why Luke? How did you get involved in this?”
He was glad to see she was still direct and to the point. “We’ve been tracking shipments of synthesized drug chemicals throughout the Southeast. The ring we’ve been tracking has a special chemical signature. They ship to suppliers throughout the region who then mix and package the chemicals into a salable drug. Luke’s information confirmed for us that they were recruiting kids to help sell in schools.”
“I knew he wanted out of the drug business, but I had no idea he was in contact with the DEA. How did that happen?”
“I never had the opportunity to fully question him, but he apparently contacted the FBI first. They didn’t have jurisdiction, so they referred him to the DEA, where he spoke a couple of times to one of our intelligence agents. He’s the one who contacted me. I tried several times to get information out of Luke, but he was too afraid to speak more on the phone. He wanted a face-to-face meeting, so we set up the meeting at the school. I was hoping to learn the identity of Luke’s supplier. From there, we could have worked our way up the ladder and possibly taken out those behind this ring. Luke’s information was the first real break we’ve had. The DEA has been trying to infiltrate this ring for several years without success. Losing Luke will be a big hit to taking them down.”
“That’s it? A kid is dead and all you can think about is the loss to your investigation?” She looked disgusted by his attitude, but she didn’t understand the scope of what was happening.
“Kids are dying every day, Claire. This drug, Trixie, it’s deadly. So far, we’ve counted fourteen deaths related to it. One was a thirteen-year-old. These drug dealers know it’s dangerous and yet they’re still pushing it to kids. I am sorry Luke is dead, but I have to keep my focus on the bigger picture. He never got a chance to share information with me that could have toppled this ring, but maybe finding the person who killed him can do it instead.” She hung her head and he could tell she was wiped out. Ten years may have taken its toll on him, but the day had taken its toll on her. “Why don’t you get some sleep? You must be tired.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep. So much has happened today.” She shuddered and Matt walked to her and rubbed her arms, noting the goose bumps.
“You don’t have to worry. You’re safe here, Claire. I’m right next door and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She nodded. “Good night.” She went back into her room and closed the door between them, leaving it cracked slightly as he’d requested.
Matt was too keyed up to sleep. He wouldn’t rest easy until he knew Claire was safe. He should have made other arrangements when Luke wanted to meet at the school. But how was he to know that Luke even knew Claire? He’d had no idea she was teaching at Lakeshore. In truth, he’d had no idea what she was doing at all. He’d made a point not to know. The less he’d known about her, the easier it had been for him to go on.
But she looked good, better than he’d expected, since he hadn’t seen her since the night of the wreck.
He got out of bed and opened his laptop, typing up an official report of the day’s events, including the murder of his informant and his intention to follow up on the murder investigation in the hopes the killer would lead him to Luke’s supplier, and emailing it to his supervisor at the DEA. He’d phoned him earlier while he was at the school to update him, but the official report was needed for the file.
One thing he liked about his DEA job was the autonomy he had. He didn’t have someone always looking over his shoulder or second-guessing his decisions. He had the leeway to extend his stay in Lakeshore to follow up on the